This invention relates to a door stop pin for an aircraft door, a related assembly, and a method of assembling the same.
An aircraft typically includes various types of doors and door frames that connect the interior of the aircraft to the exterior, such as cabin doors, cargo doors, emergency doors and the like. These door assemblies are subjected to relative motion and misalignment due to in-flight pressurization of the cabin, flight loads applied to external surfaces, mechanical vibrations, and other sources. To address this problem, aircraft door assemblies include devices commonly referred to as “door stop pins” to ensure loads are transferred between the door and the door frame at pre-established locations.
However, the construction of an aircraft door including door stop pins is often costly and/or time consuming. The process of assembling the door may be tedious, sometimes involving trial and error, as the door stop pins may need to be positioned and re-positioned to ensure proper alignment of the pins.
To minimize the labor required at the assembly stage, the door stop pins and door may be fabricated with additional features, such as keys, keyways, and locking springs to speed the assembly operation and to maintain the position of the door stop pin thereafter. Such a configuration may require specific cuts to be manufactured into the end of the door stop pin to allow for locking of the spring, however, these configurations still do not allow for precise adjustments when installing the door stop pins on the door. Additionally, the formation of such features on the door stop pins and other door parts greatly add to the cost of the components.
Thus, there remains a need for a low cost, easy to assemble door stop pin assembly for an aircraft that allows for precise adjustment when installing the door stop pin into the aircraft door.